The word · Hadith

الجَرْحُ وَالتَّعْدِيل

Jarh wa Ta'dil

The discipline of criticising or vouching for narrators, so that a chain can be judged fairly.

Also written · Jarh wal Tadil · Al-Jarh wa al-Tadil · Jarh and Tadil · Jarh wa Taadeel · Jarh wat-Ta'deel · Jarh · Tadil · Ta'dil · Jarah wa tadeel · Criticism and praise · Jarh o tadeel · Kadhdhab

The meaning

What Jarh wa Ta'dil means in Islam

Jarh means to wound, ta'dil to declare upright. Scholars used a graded vocabulary, from thiqah thiqah at the top down to kadhdhab at the bottom, and applied it to teachers, friends and family without flinching. The working rule is that a criticism which explains itself outweighs a general word of praise, and that a critic known for harshness is read with that in mind. This was not backbiting; it was quality control on what people were told Allah's Messenger said.

Evidence · Editorial · Our own summary, drawn from the sources named